Globe, Facebook Collaborate to Promote the Digital Thumbprint Program

September 25, 2017 | 02:21 PM

Public Company Information:

PSE: GLO

Globe Telecom and Facebook have joined hands to promote digital
literacy and online responsibility among students, teachers, and the
general public through the Digital
Thumbprint Program (DTP). The program advocates cyber wellness
and judicious use of the Internet.

This was announced by Globe and Facebook at the Globe Media
Excellence Awards–Visayas, an annual event which upholds press freedom
and media excellence by recognizing outstanding traditional and
digital media practitioners.

Inspired by Optus' Digital Thumbprint in-school program in
Australia, DTP was introduced by Globe in the Philippines early last
year to educate the Filipino youth on the importance of responsible
digital citizenship through a series of workshops.

So far, the DTP has reached 17,510 public and private high school
students and 1,842 public high school teachers have been empowered to
teach the program to their students. Based on the latest impact
assessment conducted by Karrikins Group, 94.4% of the participants
found DTP relevant while 93.7% said it helped them build confidence in
their online activities. Teachers also agreed that their students were
highly engaged in the sessions.

Realizing the importance of DTP in lifting digital literacy in the
Philippines, Facebook committed to co-develop a module with Globe that
will equip the public with skills to discern the authenticity and
reliability of online information, and to act with empathy online.

Facebook also committed to further enrich the content of the first
three DTP modules which deal with online security and safety,
responsible online behavior and protection against cyberbullying, and
empowerment through technology and innovation. Each module was
designed to increase students’ knowledge of digital citizenship

Clair Deevy, Head of Community Affairs for APAC, said “At Facebook,
helping build an informed community is critical to our mission of
giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer
together. We want to empower people to identify misleading news
content when they encounter it–on any platform. To do this, we need to
work together with tech companies, media companies, newsrooms and
classrooms. Here in the Philippines, we are working with Globe and
others to help create a more informed community.”

“We are glad to collaborate with Facebook in further strengthening
DTP by educating the youth and communities about digital truth while
promoting values that respect the dignity of each person online. In
an age where there is easy access to all types of information via the
internet, it is incumbent upon us to help educate the public
especially the youth about proper online behavior. One of our
sustainability focus areas is creating a digital nation. Globe as a
technology company acknowledges the importance of having the right
balance of empowerment that technology brings and the responsibility
that goes with it,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications.

With over 58% of Filipinos using the Internet daily at an average of
4.17 hours, and over 60% of Filipinos now having access to
data-capable phones, Globe sees it as an opportune time to advocate
for the responsible use of the information highway and to protect its
customers against misinformation and online threats.

Schools and organizations that would like to avail and schedule
facilitation of the free workshops can email [email protected].
Workshops also include a trainers program to equip aspiring
facilitators to carry out the workshops independently.